Coroner reports increase in fentanyl-related deaths

Deaths seen from ‘elephant tranquilizers’ in Chicago as opioid toll mounts

Scott Cousins, scousins@s24532.p831.sites.pressdns.com

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10:54 pm CST, Saturday, December 10, 2016

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Coroner reports increase in fentanyl-related deaths

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EDWARDSVILLE — As the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts out data that the number of deaths from opioid overdoses has jumped dramatically and Madison County Coroner Steve Nonn said they have seen a marked increase in deaths from fentanyl use, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office has announced reported deaths this year from overdoses of what were described as “elephant tranquilizers.”

In September, a 46-year-old Chicago-area man died from a combination of fentanyl analogs, including carfentanil, used by veterinarians to immobilize large animals.

“We know it’s out there,” said Nonn, who added that although they have not seen carfentanil in Madison County, “it will probably come into this area at some point.”

“When you get into that circle of drug users, they’re going to try anything,” he said. “If they can’t get their mitts on their drug of choice, then whatever drug available becomes their drug of choice. That’s why there’s nothing off limits when you’re in that circle. There’s nothing you won’t try to take that edge off.”

According to the Associated Press, more than 50,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, the most ever. Heroin deaths rose 23 percent in one year, to 12,989, slightly surpassing the number of gun homicides, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.

Deaths from synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, rose 73 percent to 9,580. And prescription painkillers took the highest toll, but posted the smallest increase.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like this. Certainly not in modern times,” said Robert Anderson, who oversees death statistics at the CDC.

The new numbers were part of the agency’s annual tally of deaths and death rates in 2015. A combination of factors caused the nation’s life expectancy to go down for the first time in more than 20 years.

This year, in Madison County, Nonn said there have been 66 confirmed or suspected drug overdose deaths.

That includes 19 from heroin, 13 from fentanyl, seven where both types of opioids were found in the victim’s system, and five with a combination of fentanyl and amphetamines, according to Nonn.

“We were warned about this by the DEA,” he said, adding they had also predicted the massive rise in heroin overdoses as early as 2007.

“In some instances people are buying what they think is heroin, and it’s fentanyl,” Nonn said, noting that fentanyl is not as addictive as heroin, but four times as powerful.

Carfentanil is 10,000 times as powerful as morphine, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.